Executives at the oneworld alliance are claiming that we should be expecting some new opportunities to upgrade oneworld flights this year. However, in fairness, they’ve been making the same claim for several years straight now, and there’s still no exact timeline, so I wouldn’t hold my breath. It’s still interesting to at least cover, though…
Continue reading: Oneworld To Introduce Alliance-Wide Upgrades In 2024
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Ben, your key statement is "The upgrade inventory is typically identical to award inventory at the saver level, so it’s not always that readily available." BA plays Scrooge when it comes to first class award inventory (Z). And, AA's Revenue Management splits first class revenue and award categorizations to prevent partner awards. For example, a seat might be discounted revenue (A) but is full fare for awards (F). Thus, no partner access. But, that's how they're all becoming.
Lets see whether this comes first or if Air Canada’s SAUA comes back first (which has been gone for years).
The *A scheme increasing became doomed with the introduction of fare families in addition to fare clases. Before that, you could easily book a full flex eco ticket, which was almost in any case Y or B, an then upgrade. Now, usually even full flex tickets book in to lowly fare classes, which means you have to ask a good travel agent to book Y or B.
How would the miles and status/tier points (or similar) be calculated? What you paid for, or the upgrade?